


Victor

by Achika



Series: Victor [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-08 18:24:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1135952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achika/pseuds/Achika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teikou is a Career Academy and are sweeping the Games. '100 Battles, 100 Victories' is a little harsher when it's not about basketball.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Rainbow Captain

Nijimura hated going on camera. All the invasive questions, the lights in his face, it was all a recipe for Nijimura hauling off and punching someone. Luckily that hadn’t actually happened yet, but it had been a close call more than once. 

As it was, the Capitol was charmed by his surliness, and now he could usually let Akashi handle most of the on camera stuff. But there was no avoiding it tonight, not as Head Mentor.

“Nijimura Shuuzou, you’ve just brought home another tribute for District 1. That’s the fifth in five years! Amazing, simply amazing. How do you do it?” Caesar Flickerman asked. 

“They were all Teikou students, like I was. And they all have such natural ability that it’s almost scary. I told them to win, and they did,” Nijimura said, fiddling with his arm band.

It was rainbow colored, bright and eye catching against the white of his shirt and the black of his hair. His stylist had cooed over it as she put it on him, going on and on about the symbolism of it.

“Well, I’m sure everyone at Teikou is so proud of you and your new Victors. I know _we_ all are. Everyone, say goodbye to Nijimura, the Rainbow Captain! Coming out next we have our newest Victor, the handsome and lovable Kise Ryouta, so stay tuned!”


	2. The Phantom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura has no idea what to do with this Tribute.

Nijimura wasn’t even sure how his latest Tribute got here. 

“You volunteered. You. Are you actually insane or what?” Nijimura asked incredulously, as soon as they were away from the cameras.

Blue eyes stared up at him, unblinking and unintimidated. Either he was too stupid to realize what he’d done, or he had a death wish. Fuck, the kid was even shorter than Akashi and…there was no way this was going to work. 

“I did what I intended,” 

Nijimura sighed. Shirogane was going to be pissed. There went Teikou’s winning streak, unless the girl could pull it off. 

There was a knock on the door. 

“Captain,” Akashi said, poking his head in. “Tetsuya’s parents have arrived to see him off,”

“Thanks, Akashi,” Nijimura said, rubbing his forehead. 

Akashi looked over at their Tribute, tilting his head curiously. He hummed thoughtfully. 

Nijimura knew that look. It meant one of two things. Either something was about to go horribly wrong for everyone but Akashi, or everything was going to go fantastically right for everyone involved. 

“I’ll send them in now,” Akashi said, ducking out. 

Nijimura hoped that Akashi had a plan in that weird, twisted brain of his, because he was all out of ideas.


	3. Blood Bath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko's Games begin.

When Kuroko went into the arena, Nijimura was watching with his Miracle Victors and a large crowd. 

“Looks like District 1 is finally going to let someone else have a turn,” someone said. 

Nijimura ignored them, trying to find Kuroko in the bloody mess of the Tributes trying to scavenge what they could from the Cornucopia. It shouldn’t be so hard to find someone with light blue hair. 

Kise frowned, “I can’t even see him, where did he go?” 

“What just happened to the boy from 7? How did he…?”Midorima frowned at the large television screen, leaning forward slightly as if to get a better look. 

The boy from 7 was collapsed on the ground, a knife sticking out of his back. 

“Good job, Tetsuya,” Akashi murmured, smiling proudly. 

Nijimura looked over at him. “So that’s what you were teaching him in secret,” 

Akashi blinked up at Nijimura, his one golden eye catching the light. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Captain. I simply gave Tetsuya some advice. What he does with it is his own,” 

Aomine snorted into his alcohol.

Murasakibara, who had been lounging sprawled limbed on a couch, got up once the Blood Bath was over. 

“This is boring, let me know when Kuro-chin does something interesting,” he said, grabbing a pastry off of one of the many trays the Avoxes around the room were holding. 

The thing about Murasakibara was that he was ridiculously tall and anyone who might have been inclined to keep him from leaving remembered exactly how much strength he had hidden away behind his laziness. 

They’d replayed the clip of Murasakibara crushing the skull of the only other Tribute left seemingly on a loop for weeks, after Murasakibara’s games. 

“Ah, Murasakibaracchi has the right idea. I have appointments I need to get ready for,” Kise sighed. He smiled brightly, but Nijimura could see that it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Be sure to cheer him on for me!”

“We will,” Nijimura said, keeping an eye on the screen.

He and Akashi had strategy to discuss and sponsors to snare.


	4. Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kise has an appointment.

“Just so you know, this wasn’t my idea,” Kise’s date for the evening said, scowling, his rather impressive eyebrows drawn tight. He stood a deliberate distance away from Kise, body language screaming awkwardness. He was wearing bold knee-high socks, one of the few concessions to Capitol fashion he’d made that night. “My friends thought it’d be funny,”

Kise felt a stab of relief. Midorima would probably call him naïve for even thinking it, but maybe this time wouldn’t be like all the others. 

Kise smiled, his brightest, most charming one. The one he’d used as a weapon, the double edged sword that had made the Capitol _love_ him. He leaned in and hooked his arm around his date’s. 

(Nijimura had pulled him aside, the moment Kise had left the arena, just out of range of microphones. 

“You’re very popular here in the Capitol. Everyone wants a piece of you,” He said simply, followed it up with “I’m sorry,”

Kise hadn’t understood at the time what that particular expression in Nijimura’s eyes meant. He’d though Nijimura was apologizing for the Games, or having to make television appearances, or something like that. 

He had understood what Nijimura really meant within a week. Nijimura had known that the Capitol would pay to get its hands on Kise, and that Kise wouldn’t be able to refuse. 

Kise had wondered idly if Nijimura had known from personal experience, or if he’d just seen the blood in the water. But Kise didn’t have the time to wonder anymore. )

“That’s alright, we’ll have a good time anyway, Kasamatsu!” 

Kasamatsu looked away, but didn’t shake Kise off. They arrived at the restaurant, and were immediately seated. Other patrons looked over, whispering to each other as discreetly as Capitol citizens could, which was not very discreet at all, ecstatic to catch a glimpse of Kise Ryouta. 

They were showing the Games on a tv brought in specially for the event.

“Oh, good! Kurokocchi is still alive!” Kise said, glancing at the screen. 

The tension in Kasamatsu seemed to ease, now that there was a somewhat neutral conversation starter. 

“He’s strange. Honestly I’m surprised he’s lasted this long,” Kasamatsu said. 

The wine arrived without either of them having to order it. 

“Akashicchi trained him really well. Even none of us knew what they’d been doing until he took down that boy from 7, neither of them would say,” Kise said, smiling.   
“Akashi trained him? Not Nijimura?” Kasamatsu asked, surprised. 

“Oh, Nijimuracchi trained him too! But Akashicchi would steal Kurokocchi away for top secret training,” Kise said cheerfully. His smile turned sly and secret. “Midorimacchi was very put out. _No one_ gets special training with Akashicchi,” 

Kasamatsu made a thoughtful noise, glancing at the television screen.

Victory, Kise thought, hiding a smirk with a sip of wine. Kise was sure that Kuroko would be getting a parachute tonight.

“But let’s talk about something more cheerful. Tell me about yourself, Kasamatsu,”


	5. The President

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura has a very stressful talk.

Nijimura couldn’t say that he was happy to run into President Shirogane. He was nothing like his cousin, nothing like Coach Shirogane of Teikou Academy, who was a man that Nijimura would – and had – fight to the death for. 

“Nijimura! Join me, we were just talking about your Tribute,” Shirogane said, motioning for Nijimura to sit. They were surrounded by Gamemakers and people with political influence. 

“Sir,” Nijimura greeted, bowing his head. 

“You must be so proud of him. Kuroko, isn’t it?” Shirogane said. 

“Of course. He’s doing very well,” 

Shirogane hummed, swirling the wine in his glass thoughtfully. “Yes he is. A bit hard to get a read on him, though, isn’t it?” 

“He’s very…contained,” Nijimura said. 

“And determined. You saw the way he broke through Hanamiya’s Spider Web, of course,” 

Nijimura spared a quick glance to the Gamemaker in question. He was smiling, but Nijimura hadn’t seen that dark an expression in Hanamiya’s eyes since Kiyoshi Teppei had become Victor despite Hanamiya’s best efforts. 

Considering that Kiyoshi had needed to cut his own leg off at the knee to achieve that goal, and the he _still_ walked with a limp despite the best medical care the Capitol’s extensive resources could afford, Nijimura was pretty sure he was going to have to keep a close eye on Kuroko, even if –when, he reminded himself - _when_ he came back alive. 

“In fact, it would hardly be surprising if you obtained yourself another Miracle,” Shirogane said. He took a sip of his wine. Shirogane wasn’t the only one who had said that. Nijimura’s stylist had added a stripe of color in Kuroko’s particular shade of blue to the rainbow arm band and said “We can always hope!”

 

“How’s your father doing? Last I heard he was still unwell,” Shirogane asked.

Nijimura refused to flinch. 

“No improvement,” Nijimura said flatly. 

“So sad. It would be a shame for you to lose him when you’re still so young,” Shirogane said.

Suddenly Nijimura could hardly breathe. Hidden under the table, his hands clenched into fists.

“I –“ 

Before Nijimura could say something he would regret, he caught sight of familiar dark red hair heading their way. 

“Excuse me, sir. But Shuuzou is going to be late for a meeting,” Akashi said, staring at Shirogane with mismatched eyes. 

“We’ll continue this later then, Nijimura,” Shirogane said pleasantly.

“I think I got the message,” Nijimura said. 

He walked away with his hands stuffed in his pockets. 

“Thanks for the rescue,” he said, watching the pavement under his feet. 

“You and President Shirogane don’t get along,” Akashi said with a shrug. 

Nijimura snorted. “There anything you _don’t_ see?” 

“No,” Akashi said simply. 

“So you know he wants Kuroko to lose,” Nijimura said. 

Akashi’s lips quirked up just a bit, like he knew something no one else –certainly not President Shirogane - did. “It would be better for him to not have another Miracle running around. But I doubt Tetsuya will go down that easily,”


	6. Let them be scared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tiles begin to fall into place.

“What’s the price of a Miracle these days?” Hanamiya asked.

Nijimura tensed, ready to pounce the second Hanamiya breathed wrong. He'd wreck that face like he'd wrecked Haizaki's and take just as much pleasure in it. “Imayoshi let you off your lease? That’s fucking irresponsible of him,” 

Hanamiya’s eyes narrowed. 

“Hanamiya!” came a cheerful shout. Nijimura felt a flood of relief. Saved by the Iron Heart. 

Hanamiya’s favorite punching bag limped over, smile firmly in place.

“Hanamiya, I was looking everywhere for you. Come tell Riko how you and Seto did the thing with the spiders, she’s very interested in it and –“ Kiyoshi wrapped a companionable arm around Hanamiya’s shoulders, gently but firmly leading the gamemaker away. 

Kiyoshi looked back, giving Nijimura a sympathetic and worried look, but didn’t stop chattering to distract Hanamiya.

“The gamemakers are very nasty people, ne Akachin?” Murasakibara said around a piece of candy. 

“Maaaaan,” Aomine drawled, stretching his arms and watching Hanamiya’s retreating back. “what is it about you that pisses people off, Captain?” 

“It’s you assholes that piss people off,” Nijimura said. 

Nijimura hadn’t had more than the usual Victor’s problems until Aomine won, marking the third consecutive win for District 1 and Teikou Academy. Now, with a prospective 6th win in a row, the people in power were getting antsy. 

The people in the Capitol love their Miracles and the Captain that brought them home victorious. And too much love is a dangerous thing. 

“We make them nervous,” Akashi said placidly. 

Nijimura could see why. Brightly colored, larger than life personalities, smart and adaptable? Fans who could be induced to riot at a well placed word from Akashi or a tearful smile from Kise? Oh yeah, Shirogane was probably shitting himself, seeing his steel grip loosen. 

Nijimura smiled viciously, saw the expression mirrored on Aomine’s face and in Akashi’s mismatched eyes. On screen, Kuroko disappeared, tricking another tribute into stabbing his ally before he realized Kuroko had even moved. 

Four tributes left.

“Good,” They _should_ be scared, Nijimura thought. 

“100 Battles,” Midorima said, and Nijimura smiled at the words they’d all of them clung to in the Arena.

“100 Victories,” Akashi finished.

When the head gamemaker died suddenly in the night, and Imayoshi Shouichi was promoted, Nijimura thought back to the determination in Akashi’s eyes and the sharpness of his smile and was not surprised in the least.


	7. News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura gets unwelcome and unexpected news from home.

“Nijimura! How are you handling your father’s death?” a reporter asked. 

“…what?” Nijimura asked, freezing. Cameras flashed, desperate to capture his reaction, and they were recording video too. 

The footage would be edited and analyzed to the tiniest detail, Nijimura’s shock and grief made into entertainment fodder. 

“We just heard the news ourselves, it must be so hard, especially when you’re so close to bringing home another victor,”

They kept talking, but Nijimura could barely hear them. There was no way his father could actually be dead, it had to be a mistake. ( _There are still three other tributes left!_ Nijimura thought, uncomprehending. _Kuroko still might lose. There was no need for Shirogane to-_ )

“Please take Shuuzou back to his apartment,” Akashi said with his best level stare to his fellow Miracles. Stepping in calmly to take control of the situation where Nijimura just _couldn’t_. “Ryouta, stay,” 

Suddenly Nijimura was being led away from the reporters by Midorima, with Murasakibara and Aomine on either side of him a half step behind, using their height like they were bodyguards protecting him from a threat. 

“Shuuzou is still preparing his official statement. For myself, however, I can say that Shuuzou’s father will be greatly missed,” Akashi said smoothly. 

“We’re all completely devastated,” Kise chimed in, and Nijimura couldn’t see the two of them anymore but he heard tears in his voice that hadn’t been there 30 seconds earlier when he’d been yammering mindlessly to Aomine, and couldn’t be real because Kise had never even _met_ Nijimura’s dad. 

Nijimura had to cover his ears while Akashi and Kise worked their magic. 

When they finally were safe in Nijimura’s apartment, he collapsed in the entryway. 

He wasn’t even crying, still in shock, but Midorima looked so fucking awkward about it that it almost made Nijimura want to laugh, in spite of everything. 

Aomine gave a low whistle. “Think they planned it that way? You finding out like that,” 

“Obviously,” Midorima said, glaring at Aomine and pushing his glasses back into place. 

“So what are we going to do?” Aomine asked back. 

“Aka-chin has a plan,” Murasakibara said. 

“He always does,” Midorima said, still looking at Nijimura like he was about to grow a second head at any moment. 

Nijimura sighed, rubbed his face. He was tired. In the morning, in an hour, he'd be angry, and vow revenge but right now... “They want an all out war on the Miracle Victors, I’m sure Akashi will give it to them,” 

Both sides had made a move. It was just a matter of time, now.


	8. The Tiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter a certain Light.

Kagami Taiga was the son of a very wealthy man so when he came over to them, of course Nijimura was suspicious. None of them have had the best luck with wealthy Capitol denizens. 

“Your guy is incredible,” Kagami said. “At first I didn’t even see him, but that’s his strength, isn’t it?” 

“I’m glad you admire Tetsuya. However, this is a private conversation,” Akashi said, frowning just slightly. Kagami probably wouldn’t even notice it, Nijimura thought, it was just a subtle tightening around Akashi’s eyes. 

Kagami only grinned in response. “Oh, come on. You guys have got to be more interesting than anyone else here,” 

Akashi’s frown deepened. Murasakibara leaned over, unfurling his long limbs, and whispered something into Akashi’s ear. 

Akashi seemed to consider whatever it was Murasakibara said for a moment. 

“Very well, Atsushi,” Akashi said, like he was an emperor granting Murasakibara a favor. Murasakibara tuned out of the conversation, looking around for an Avox to flag down so that he could convinced them to bring snacks, probably. 

Kagami definitely didn’t see it coming when Akashi launched out of his chair, knife in hand and aimed straight at Kagami’s face.

But Nijimura knew it was much slower than Akashi _could_ move, his reflexes being like they were. Still. 

It was very inappropriate. 

“Akashi,” Nijimura snapped sternly, and the blade twisted a millimeter, just grazing Kagami’s cheek once he dodged, instead of taking out Kagami’s eye.

“I simply wanted to test him,” Akashi said to Nijimura, and on Kise that expression would have been a full blown pout that had the Capitol throwing gifts at him.

“You’re fucking insane,” Kagami said. But then he laughed, his grin sharp. “I like it,” 

“You’re lucky you’re Muro-chin’s brother,” Murasakibara said idly, finally catching the attention of an Avox with orange hair. “Aka-chin doesn’t usually play nice,” 

“You might be useful yet, Taiga wasn’t it?” Akashi said. 

That night Kuroko was gifted with a cloak the color of the shadows in the trees, made from very fine, very warm, very expensive fabric.


	9. Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there's going to be a war, you need an army.

If it was strange that Kise was visiting Kasamatsu at work, it was only strange that Kasamatsu had managed to catch Kise’s attention for longer than five minutes. None of Kise’s other dates lasted past a night. A week at the most.

The media was quite taken by the romance, despite Kasamatsu’s objections to both the term and the speculation that followed. 

“Kasamatsu is just a very private person. It’s very refreshing,” Kise said cheerfully to the paparazzi, posing for a picture or ten before ducking inside the building. 

“Kasamatsu~! I brought you lunch!” Kise said, fluttering into the control room.

“I’m busy,” Kasamatsu said, not looking up from his work. 

Kise huffed, pouting. “But you need to eat,” 

“Your boyfriend’s concern for your health is so touching, Kasamatsu, I may cry,” Hanamiya said, raising his voice to be heard from the other side of the room. 

“No one asked you, Hanamiya,” Kasamatsu snapped.

“Kasamatsu, pay attention to your boy before he distracts everyone from their job. We wouldn’t want that, would we, Hanamiya?” Imayoshi called, leaning against the railing on the upper level, placid smile never wavering. 

Hanamiya scowled darkly but went back to what he had been doing before Kise’s arrival. 

“Thank you, Imayoshicchi!” Kise said, and Imayoshi just nodded before disappearing into his office. 

Kise pulled up a chair and plopped down next to Kasamatsu. 

“Tell me about your day,” Kise said, turning his bright smile on Kasamatsu, who became flustered for a moment looking away and telling Kise about the coffee mishap that morning.

And with that, Kise had a legitimate reason to be lurking around the Gamemaker’s control room. If he left with more information than he’d started with, well, no one noticed him copy the files except maybe Imayoshi, and he didn’t do anything except give Kise an approving smile as he left.

 

 

Midorima stood uncomfortably in the studio’s lobby, and checked his watch again. It was half past noon, which meant -

“Shin-chan? What are you doing here?” said a voice behind him, and Midorima turned. 

“Takao. I happened to be nearby and –“

“And you came to take me to lunch, didn’t you? Be still my beating heart, Shin-chan does care,” Takao teased. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. But it _is_ time for lunch, I suppose,” Midorima said, pushing his glasses back into position.

“So what are your lunch plans, then?” Takao asked, looking at curiously.

“I was going to cook some soup, or maybe noodles…” Midorima said primly. 

“Shin-chan cooks? This I’ve got to see,” Takao said. He waved to the girl at the desk. “I’m going to lunch. I’ll be back for the interview with the mentors of the remaining tributes!”

“Have fun! Remember, we start filming at 3:30, so be here early!” 

They left, and walked in silence for a few blocks before Takao finally spoke. 

“So what’s this really about? You didn’t visit just to cook for me,” Takao said. 

“Was it obvious?” Midorima asked. 

Takao looked up at the sky and grinned. “Eh, Shin-chan’s not exactly subtle,” 

“We… _I_ require your assistance with something…delicate,” Midorima said.

Takao got the sharp look in his eye that Midorima recognized as him being serious.

“About Nijimura’s dad,” Takao said, voice low. Midorima didn’t know if he’d been at work, when that assignment went out, but he’d obviously seen the footage after. 

“In part,” Midorima said. 

Takao grinned. “Count me in, Shin-chan,” 

Midorima gave him an unimpressed stare. “You don’t even know what you’re volunteering for,” 

Takao waved away Midorima’s concerns. “I’ve got an idea. I see more than most people, remember?” 

The lunch Midorima made the both of them turned out better than Midorima had expected. Cooking wasn’t his forte, but it was worth it not to have an Avoxes lurking around while they talked. 

 

 

Murasakibara met Himuro not long after he left the arena. Actually, it was almost immediately after he left the arena, Himuro had been one of the medical personnel that had looked him over between the end of the Games and his crowning as Victor. 

Murasakibara had been restless – he really hadn’t want to go anywhere, or do anything, but he couldn’t stop fidgeting while they examined him. And he was hungry.   
Himuro had given him a packet of candy and told him to ‘sit _still_ , Atsushi’. Murasakibara had liked him immediately. 

Unfortunately, Murasakibara had caught a slight illness while in the arena that only caught up to him once his body had calmed down.

Himuro put up with his whining, which was nice, but complained when Murasakibara didn’t want to eat soup, or vegetables, eventually going so far as to hit Murasakibara.

“Take care of yourself!” Himuro had snapped, and Murasakibara had sighed but eaten the soup.

“Muro-chin is so annoying,” 

“Muro-chin,” Murasakibara said. They were eating lunch in a secluded little booth in a small café Murasakibara liked. “I need a favor,”

“What is it, Atsushi?” Himuro asked, eyebrow raised. Normally Murasakibara just asked for things outright, or whined. Actually acknowledging it as a favor wasn’t something Murasakibara ever thought of. 

“Well, it’s more Aka-chin’s favor, I guess,” Murasakibara said, scratching his cheek thoughtfully. “Could you look into something for us? Mura-chin’s father…”

Himuro made a noise of understanding. He’d heard about Nijimura Senior’s death, of course. 

“Wasn’t he sick for a while?” Himuro asked. 

Murasakibara nodded. “They never did figure out what was wrong with him,” 

“Of course I’ll take a look, Atsushi, but I don’t know what you expect me to find. I don’t really deal with things like that,” Himuro said. 

“Aka-chin says it might be dangerous,” Murasakibara felt compelled to say. 

Himuro paused, looking at Murasakibara for a long moment. He’d never been stupid, which was something Murasakibara liked about him. He’d draw the right conclusion.

“I see,” Himuro said. “Well, that’s never stopped me before,”

 

 

Satsuki didn’t count as one of the Miracle Victors, though she should, in Aomine’s opinion. But she’d been through the Games a couple years before the streak really started. They’d lived next to each other growing up, and she was Aomine’s best friend. 

“Akashi’s got a job for you,” Aomine said. 

Satsuki narrowed her eyes. “You boys have been plotting again. I told you not to do that without me!”

Aomine held up his hands defensively. “Hey, hey! It’s Akashi’s fault, go yell at him,”

She glared at him, just long enough that he was afraid he was going to have to start really groveling, before she relented. 

“Hmph, you all should know better. Fine, tell him to send the data over,”

“You’re the best, Satsuki,” 

“And don’t you forget it!”


	10. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A victor is declared, the traps are sprung, and multiple revelations occur.

It didn’t take long for Akashi’s plan to come together. With information from Satsuki, Kagami, and Kise and Takao’s media connections, suddenly there were scandals everywhere. 

President Shirogane’s closest friends and advisors were suddenly hounded by all kinds of unsavory rumors. One was taken down for embezzling, one for intimidation of another company, one for dog fighting and the murder of an Avox, the list just kept going and going. Even after spending so long in the Capitol, Nijimura could hardly believe the offenses. 

It shouldn’t have worked. How could the Capitol care about these things while they were still eagerly watching the Hunger Games on their TVs? 

But they did. 

Nijimura hated them for their hypocrisy more than he ever had. 

Then Himuro came back, troubled. 

“Well, I know how Nijimura Senior died,” Himuro said. Murasakibara slung a long arm around Himuro’s shoulders.

Akashi raised an eyebrow, settling in further next to Nijimura. “Go on,”

“I’ve never seen anything like it, but there’s no mistaking these results. He was poisoned, and had been for a very long time before he died. I’m sorry, Nijimura,” Himuro said. 

“I figured,” Nijimura said, after a moment. Why else would his father never have recovered, or died before then, if he was so sick with something they couldn’t diagnose, despite being looked after by the best doctors a Victor could buy. Having him hovering in ill health, where he could be a pawn used to manipulate Nijimura into doing President Shirogane’s will, was infinitely more useful. 

“Can you prove it?” Akashi asked. 

“Yes,” Himuro said confidently. 

On the TV, Kuroko snuck up beside the last other tribute and slit his throat. 

“Good. Now the real fun begins,” Akashi said.

Nijimura was up immediately. 

“We need to be there when he gets back. We can’t let him be alone with them,” Nijimura said, and then the four of them were out the door, each placing calls to the others. 

They weren’t fast enough, when Nijimura arrived Kuroko had been back for long enough that something could have gone horribly wrong. But Kagami was there, hovering beside Kuroko and distracting him while the medical types looked him over. 

Kuroko just looked faintly amused. 

“This odd person says he knows you,” Kuroko said. 

“Thanks for your help, Taiga,” Himuro said, looking over one of the nurse’s shoulders to look at their analysis. 

“Everyone get out,” Nijimura ordered. The nurses paused, confused. 

“But –“

“Out! Himuro, you can stay and finish the exam, but everyone else not from District 1 needs to get the fuck out right now before I hit them repeatedly in the face,” Nijimura snapped. 

There was a mass scrambling towards the door. 

“I’ll just stand guard,” Kagami said, leaving as well.

“This will have to be quick,” Nijimura said. “They’ll want you on TV as soon as possible. Shirogane hates you and wanted you to lose, you’re in a lot of danger. We all are. Don’t let your guard down for a second,” 

Kuroko did not look surprised at the revelation. 

“I had been prepared for something like that,” Kuroko said. 

“I believe that it’s time you told the Capitol why you volunteered,” Akashi said. 

_That_ Kuroko did look surprised by. “How do you-?”

Akashi just smiled, his one gold eye catching in the light. There was a knock on the door. 

Kagami poked his head in. “The stylist is here, should I let him in yet, or...?”

“Sei-chan!” called another voice, cheerful but with just a hint of menace. “You had better not be trying to keep me from doing my job after you were the one who summoned me,”

“I would never dream of it, Reo. Let him in, Taiga,” Akashi said. 

It was Akashi’s own stylist, swanning in with clothes and makeup and things for last minute alterations.

“You do realize I’m a very busy man, Sei-chan? And that getting _two_ Victors up to my standards in such a short amount of time is a frankly ludicrous amount of work?” Reo asked, setting up quickly. 

“I have the utmost faith in your abilities, Reo, and leave Tetsuya and myself in your capable hands,” Akashi said. 

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Reo said with a wink before setting in to work. 

 

Nijimura watched from the wings while Kuroko was on stage. Reo had done an amazing job in the limited amount of time he’d had, making Kuroko look like a creature of pure shadows. 

Nijimura’s own stylist had decided to make a rainbow throw up all over him, and Nijimura wondered just how badly Akashi would kill him if he tried to steal Reo away. 

“I’m sure you’ll be happy to go home and see your friends,” Caesar said.

There was a split second where Nijimura saw Kuroko glance their way, before he responded. 

“I haven’t had any friends in District 1 for years,” Kuroko said flatly. 

“What? No. Not a funny, determined guy like you,” Caesar said. “I refuse to believe it,”

Aomine grabbed a flute of champagne off the tray the Avox with orange hair had in his hands. 

“I had a friend, but he was taken away,” Kuroko said. 

“So tragic! What happened?” Caesar asked, intrigued. 

“We were eleven. He was joking around, like children do. We were too young even to be Reaped,” Kuroko said. The audience was on the edge of their seats, following the story with baited breath, and Nijimura could admit that he was curious, too. 

“He said the wrong thing in front of the wrong people, and they took him away. They cut out his tongue to stop his screaming. Ogiwara-kun is an Avox now,”


	11. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a very touching moment in front of the entire country.

The reaction was instantaneous. Gasps of horror from the crowd, angry muttering, Caesar Flickerman’s genuine shock. 

But the thing that caught Nijimura’s attention was the crash of champagne flutes hitting the floor. 

The Avox with orange hair was already kneeling down, picking up the big pieces of glass, his face as perpetually undisturbed as ever. But his hands were trembling almost imperceptibly, and that looked an awful lot like hastily concealed panic in his eyes. 

“…Ogiwara?” Nijimura asked quietly. The Avox glanced over at Nijimura quickly, but didn’t stop picking up shattered glass. 

His hands were shaking more noticeably now. 

Nijimura couldn’t hold back a disgusted noise and yanked Ogiwara up. 

“We are going to have a long talk about respect, and manipulating people, and lines you _don’t cross_ after this,” Nijimura said harshly to Akashi, who did not looked surprised in the _least_ that Kuroko’s childhood friend the Avox just _happened_ to be present at that particular moment. 

Akashi didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed.

Nijimura sighed.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it at the moment.

“Come on,” Nijimura said to Ogiwara, and started to drag him towards the stage. 

He didn’t fight it, whatever they’d done to Ogiwara and the other Avoxes killed any resistance he may have had to the notion of being paraded in front of cameras.  
The audience’s reaction when Nijimura stepped on stage was deafening, especially once they realized who he was bringing out with him. 

Kuroko’s eyes were wide and he was up and standing in front of them before Nijimura could blink.

“I think I found something of yours,” Nijimura said, once the initial clamor had died down. 

“Ogiwara-kun,” Kuroko said desperately. 

Nijimura watched as Ogiwara’s Avox façade started to crumble. Tears were beginning to leak out of Ogiwara’s downcast eyes involuntarily. His shoulders slumped. He held out a fist towards Kuroko, all kinds of wordless communication that Nijimura couldn’t parse. When Kuroko gently bumped Ogiwara’s fist with his own, Ogiwara started crying in earnest. 

Nijimura cleared his throat, uncomfortable with watching anymore, and looked out at the audience, many of whom were also crying – it was so touching, so moving, wasn’t it? Childhood friends reunited at last. 

“President Shirogane and his pals do whatever they want, and look what happens! A kid too young for the _Hunger Games_ got his tongue ripped out and was forced into servitude for years! My father was _murdered_ to keep me in line. Can we really afford to let this keep happening if we want this country to survive? If _we_ want to survive?” Nijimura asked angrily into the camera. 

Have fun with the consequences of this one Shirogane, Nijimura thought.


	12. Revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sparks ignite.

If Nijimura thought that the studio audience’s reaction was intense, it was nothing compared to the reaction of the Capitol at large.  
The sheer anger at President Shirogane over the next few hours took Nijimura by surprise. 

“Only a little bit more, now,” Akashi said, looking out the window.

Peacekeepers were patrolling regularly, ostensibly for ‘public safety’. 

“Does that mean it’s my turn now, Akashicchi?” Kise asked, practically bouncing on his feet. 

“There _is_ a certain elegance in having a Gamemaker be the one to end it,” Midorima said. 

“Akashi, have you thought through what’s going to happen once everything goes up in flames?” Nijimura had to ask.

“Oh, don’t worry Captain, everything is being handled,” Akashi said. 

“Alright then, go ahead,” Nijimura said, nodding his approval.

Akashi turned to Kise. 

“Ryouta, make sure it’s good. Shintarou, I trust you can convince Kazunari to be there,”

The two of them nodded. Midorima went to make a call, and Kise took a shallow, shakey breath to work himself up and rubbed his eyes until it looked like he’d been crying. 

He gave them a watery grin and a thumbs up before leaving to sneak past the Peacekeepers. 

Nijimura had to hand it to Kise, his acting was flawless when he interrupted Takao’s interview on the street with Kasamatsu – though Nijimura had to wonder if there was actually less acting than Kise would admit.

_“I can’t do it anymore, Kasamatsu! I can’t keep sleeping with them just to keep Shirogane happy, I –“_ Kise cried, scrunching himself up smaller and burying his face in Kasamatsu’s shoulder. 

The shock at Kise’s interruption had faded the longer the blonde spoke, and now the expression on Kasamatsu’s face was pure anger. He put a hand on the back of Kise’s head, awkward but comforting. 

The ensuing tirade against President Shirogane was one of the most impressive things Nijimura had ever seen. 

Aomine whistled. “Kise really worked that one over, didn’t he? He’s whipped,” 

“I think they’re sweet,” Momoi said as she walked in, settling down next to Aomine on one of the couches. 

“You actually buy the romance Kise’s been feeding everyone?” Aomine asked, eyebrow raised. 

Momoi raised her’s right back. 

“Are you saying that Kise _doesn’t_ thrive on exaggerating what’s already there and using that to his benefit? No, Dai-chan, the feelings are real, even if maybe neither of them knows it or would admit it yet,” 

Aomine shook his head. “Girls,” 

“Boys,” Momoi huffed with an exaggerated eyeroll. 

“When do you think they noticed they couldn’t cut the feed?” Aomine asked, changing the subject.

“As soon as Kise stepped into view of Takao’s camera, I’d assume,” Nijimura said.

Murasakibara, who had taken Akashi’s spot near the window, looked over at them. 

“They’ve increased the number of Peacekeepers floating around, and there are protests happening right outside,” 

“Look, Takao-kun’s found a protest and is filming it,” Kuroko said. Ogiwara was sleeping through the entire thing on the couch with him, head resting in Kuroko’s lap, having exhausted himself earlier.

They hadn’t wanted to let Ogiwara leave with them, but once Aomine and Murasakibara started looming threateningly over people and glaring, there had been nothing they could do.

Nijimura’s eyes narrowed as he studied the screen. “How is he even getting that angle…? You can see everything…” 

“Takao has always been skilled at seeing what other people can’t,” Midorima said. He was sitting on the edge of his seat, but hadn’t appeared to notice yet and Nijimura wasn’t about to bring it to his attention. 

Imayoshi was speaking on screen at the protest, something about it being a shame that Victors were being mistreated when they’d been through so much, but what caught Nijimura’s eyes was the rainbow colored arm band Imayoshi was wearing. 

“He’s stealing your look, Nijimura,” Aomine said.

“It shows his allegiance isn’t to President Shirogane. And without the Head Gamemaker Shirogane won’t last long,” Akashi said.

Hanamiya had always described Imayoshi as the kind of guy who would do things that other people hated just because he could, and apparently Imayoshi had decided that doing what Shirogane didn’t want was more entertaining than doing what Akashi didn’t want. 

It took 14 hours of violence and fire for some of the protestors to get through and drag Shirogane out of hiding and into the street. 

“Congratulations, you just staged a successful coup,” Nijimura said to Akashi. Shirogane’s blood was cooling on the ground. 

“Did you ever expect anything less?” Akashi asked curiously, looking up at him with mismatched eyes, and Nijimura had to concede the point. Akashi’s smile softened slightly, more like the smile he’d had before the Games had warped him. “Welcome to the new world, Captain. We won,” 

“We’re Teikou, and Teikou doesn’t lose,” Nijimura agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading along with this, and your encouragement for a silly idea I had that ate my brain. 
> 
> Victor may be over, and but there's definitely more to say about this universe, so expect bits and pieces over in 100 Victories for a while yet.


End file.
